Saturday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) looked on CNN’s “Newsroom” to answer to comments from Judge Peter Cahill near the close of the Derek Chauvin trial last week about Waters’ call for clash over a latent outcome in the trial.
Waters was indifferent of Cahill’s apprehension and downplayed claims that she had affected the jury’s deliberation.
“Well, he did walk it back,” Waters said. “And as you said, he closed with a congresswoman’s opinion doesn’t matter. And I think he was angry. I think he may be frustrated with this case and how much world publicity is on it and all of that. I’ve talked with a lot of legal scholars and lawyers, and of course, he was way off track, and he knows that, in fact, the jurors were not in the room.
The jurors had an oath not to look at television, not to read the newspapers, not to engage with people on this. And so he knows that there was no interference with the jurors. But he was basically frustrated and angry, I believe.”
“But I am very pleased there are those beginning to write about Judge Cahill’s basic comments. And one thing I read that came from someone from CNN was that the judge was all off track, and he knows that this is not the cause of an appeal.
Most of the time, when you have a case like this, they’re going to appeal it anyway. But to say that I’m going to cause an appeal really is not credible. And whether or not they have an appeal, and even if they mention my name like the judge says, my comments, whatever, don’t matter anyway.”